Progress Report

July 3-8, 2006 // CONSTRUCTION LOG #91

Contact phone numbers

Internet Phone:
New York: 315-279-6711
Toronto: 416-907-5758 // 416-461-2203

Costa Rica:
Cell: 506-305-3965
Land: 506-282-4142 Ext. 101

NOTE: the New York and Toronto numbers are "local calls" for people in the area codes; calls from outside the area code will be billed at the normal rate from the caller's area code to either the "315" or the "416" area code.

Pictures: house 101 / 102 and 124 / 125 (Pictures are posted by Tuesday's in "Current Status" section of the website)

The Story: my recovery and new opportunities

CONSTRUCTION

Weather: generally nice weather with little rain

Units 101 / 102: Unit 101 is moving along. Most of the boarding is done and the taping is well advanced. Unit 102 has the finishing white coat on all the walls, and the wiring is all roughed in. It is ready to have the ceilings boarded but priority is going to the upper unit.

Lockers and Houses: Unit 125 will be finished and cleaned by this time next week. All the cabinetry is installed along with the granite. Appliances are ready for installation but will be the last thing to be done. Unit 124 is perhaps a week behind.

Lockers: These are awaiting their doors which will be followed by painting. We will be making shelves for those who want them.

Preparing for the completion: no further movement on this; we continue to work down the inventory as construction advances..

Electrical System Upgrade: We are still minus the transformer. It seems that after "fixing the switch" they had to weld or solder some joints. They didn't realize that one of the metals they were attaching to was stainless steel and they used the wrong weld so when the transformer goes to cook out the moisture in the oil, the weld leaks oil or some such thing. Anyway, it seems to be gathering a lot of mileage and it's installation still eludes us.

Marketing: Unit 115 will likely close this coming week. We've had a number of inquiries this week for rentals.

Internet: We've continued to have problems this week. We are still lacking the reliability that we seek. Electronics like constant, stable power. With the natural electrical surges, spikes, and add to that, the welding, it's been really tough on this system. These problems will have to await the transformer, the surge protector we will add as well , and the end of welding,

Satellite TV: So far, so good.

Next Project

We are now focusing an a 4 hectare / 40,000 M2 or 10 acre site which has a stream running lengthwise through the center of the property. The property is irregular in shape and in topography. It has some magnificent trees on it. It is well priced. The singular issue we are awaiting information on is the setback requirement for construction from the stream. If it is 10 meters as we suspect, we will make an offer. The owner is anxious to sell. I viewed the property abut 10 months ago but it was too early. The surrounding area is not as upscale as I would like but the land is fantastic, the price is right, and I think we can make a fantastic enclave.

OUR LIVES

My recovery continues at a spectacular rate. I'm walking normally and lead a normal life albeit at a bit slower pace. We will have to move from where we are in a couple weeks; unfortunately, our new home won't yet be ready so we will have to move into a vacant unit and camp for a couple weeks and depend on the generosity of others or the local restaurants. I tried to avoid this but it didn't happen. I'm not happy about it but we'll survive.

I'm going to be able to build into our unit, most of the things that Lita wants and which will make life easier for her given her eyesight. She'll be able to negotiate the access ramp. There will be an outside sink and counter where she can care for her birds. I'll add a bar-b-q to this area for balcony cooking. We'll have several skylights, one in the master bathroom and one in her lock off walk-in closet. She'll have a washer and dryer so she won't have to lug the clothes up and down the ramp and we'll build a clothes line so she can hang the clothes on the terrace without problems. For the floor, I'll probably opt for some type of contrasting design which gives her some reference points -a walkway to/from-. She wants some sort of decorative window so we're looking at a stained glass window in the bedroom. I think the living/dining/kitchen area will be bright enough given the many clear story windows we have and the indirect lighting they afford. She will have an indoor/outdoor water fountain so she can hear dripping water. We haven't chosen the color scheme yet.

One of Lita's budgies popped an egg. Unfortunately, we didn't have nest making material in the cage so I don't think it will hatch. We now have the fixings in the cage at least for the next time. Naive us, we thought they were sleeping at night; little did we know there was begetting and begetting going on.

Brian, Lita, Hugo and irreverent Vicka, the pigeon toed parrot.

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